Thoughts on Microsoft in the Video Game Industry

[IntvGene]

Here's an article on whether Microsoft should stay in the video game industry or not. They suggest that Microsoft should leave the market:
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2003/mft03041601.htm

Please note that this is an editorial, so there will be bias. (I am just writing this because the last article I posted turned into a media literacy debate! )

I still think that Gates is here for a while longer. I expect a X-Box 2 before they give up on the market. Any other comments?

[Sylentwulf]

I didn't read the article yet (have to leave soon) But I don't see any reason at all for microsoft to leave the market.

[omnedon]

That editorial is from a shareholders point of view. I wonder if the shareholders views matter in this case, or will Bill just plow through and MAKE it happen with $heer br$te f$rce.

I love my Xbox. It's a great region free DVD player, and full blown multimedia PC on my LAN... oh wait...I did those things to it. never mind.

[udisi]

I rread the article, but still don't see a reason to bow out. Technologicaly the xbox is still the best system out there. By staying in the market they show that they have staying power, and with the aquisistions of Rare, bungie, and probably more 3rd party developers(sega maybe ?) Microsoft is just starting to build a deleloper base. They need to refine their in house development, but I don't see that as a huge priority as sony has seemed to make it 8 years without a bunch of blockbuster 1st party hits. If microsoft can put out some really good games from the 3rd parties they've aquired and will aquire, they will get some of the sony market share, and once they start making a dent, I believe that some of the 3rd party games that have been ps2 exclusive may end up going multi-platform and furthering the microsoft cause.

[geelw]

er, i *HOPE* you were being sarcastic about sony not having any "blockbuster" hits in 8 years...

[Pente]

To me the Xbox is 100% going the way of the Sega Dreamcast. Why? RAMPANT PIRACY.

I mean who buys Xbox games anymore? Just like what happened with the Dreamcast, everyone just downloads the games and gets them free. And with more and more people modding their Xbox's it will just get worse.

It's the Sega Dreamcast story all over again. Xbox is cracked.. and will soon be at the point of no return.

[Sylentwulf]

Well, Sony hasn't really had too many first party hits. Not compared to any other console ever made anyways

[zmeston]

Well, Sony hasn't really had too many first party hits. Not compared to any other console ever made anyways

I agree that without Rockstar's GTA franchise, the PS2 is much more vulnerable, but c'mon, now... Sony has had many, many first-party hits. Just for the PS2 lately, there's been SOCOM, ATV Offroad Fury 2, and The Getaway, all top-ten best-sellers. If you go back to the PS1, Sony has had dozens of first-party hits.

-- Z.

[zmeston]

To me the Xbox is 100% going the way of the Sega Dreamcast. Why? RAMPANT PIRACY.

I mean who buys Xbox games anymore? Just like what happened with the Dreamcast, everyone just downloads the games and gets them free. And with more and more people modding their Xbox's it will just get worse.

It's the Sega Dreamcast story all over again. Xbox is cracked.. and will soon be at the point of no return.

Sorry, but the Dreamcast didn't die because of piracy; it died because of Sega's buffoonish management and several other factors (which have been touched on in other threads in this forum). You're looking at the situation from the ultra-hardcore perspective as opposed to the mainstream perspective, and it's the mainstream/casual gamer that ultimately determines the success or failure of a console. Joe Blow doesn't fathom how to download Dreamcast games and burn them onto CD-ROMs; Joe Blow buys four or five games a year and plays the shit out of them. Many, MANY more people purchase Xbox games as opposed to downloading them.

-- Z.

[zmeston]

Here's an article on whether Microsoft should stay in the video game industry or not. They suggest that Microsoft should leave the market:
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2003/mft03041601.htm

Please note that this is an editorial, so there will be bias. (I am just writing this because the last article I posted turned into a media literacy debate! )

I still think that Gates is here for a while longer. I expect a X-Box 2 before they give up on the market. Any other comments?

I don't see the bias in the article, unless it's a bias for dumping unsuccessful ventures.

You're right, though; there'll be an Xbox (no hyphen, no capital B) 2.

-- Z.

[Zaxxon]

To me the Xbox is 100% going the way of the Sega Dreamcast. Why? RAMPANT PIRACY.

I mean who buys Xbox games anymore? Just like what happened with the Dreamcast, everyone just downloads the games and gets them free. And with more and more people modding their Xbox's it will just get worse.

It's the Sega Dreamcast story all over again. Xbox is cracked.. and will soon be at the point of no return.

Sorry, but the Dreamcast didn't die because of piracy; it died because of Sega's buffoonish management and several other factors (which have been touched on in other threads in this forum). You're looking at the situation from the ultra-hardcore perspective as opposed to the mainstream perspective, and it's the mainstream/casual gamer that ultimately determines the success or failure of a console. Joe Blow doesn't fathom how to download Dreamcast games and burn them onto CD-ROMs; Joe Blow buys four or five games a year and plays the shit out of them. Many, MANY more people purchase Xbox games as opposed to downloading them.
-- Z.

I agree completely. I have a PC with a cd-r burner and broadband. I could've dl'ed and burned DC games but for the most part, what's the point. All I had to do was wait a little while and the games were all selling for $5-$15 new. Why go through all the hassle of finding the right ISO's and the right version of Disc Juggler and the right header to make it self-booting and the Utopia disc. Fuck that. Also if you're any kind of collector why would you want a cd-r of a game. If you're any kind of a Sega fan or videogame fan why would you want to work so hard to screw over Sega knowing there's a very real possibilty it could put them out of business when it's so easy to support them.

[Zaxxon]

Here's an article on whether Microsoft should stay in the video game industry or not. They suggest that Microsoft should leave the market:
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2003/mft03041601.htm

Please note that this is an editorial, so there will be bias. (I am just writing this because the last article I posted turned into a media literacy debate! )

I still think that Gates is here for a while longer. I expect a X-Box 2 before they give up on the market. Any other comments?

I don't see the bias in the article, unless it's a bias for dumping unsuccessful ventures.

You're right, though; there'll be an Xbox (no hyphen, no capital B) 2.

-- Z.

I can't really get enthusiastic about any of the new consoles. They all have a lot of the same games. They all look nearly identical. The graphics aren't that much better than DC IMO. Things still look very "polygony". The graphics hardware is developed by PC graphic card companies, either Nvidea or ATI, or Sony. It feels like I might as well just play a PC as it would be the same experience.

[NE146]

Screw the Xbox games.. the emulation on it is where it's at

And yeah yeah we all know "I can play the same games on the pc" etc.. But a pc is much harder to transfer between tv's and long distances in general. :P And besides, the dual analog xbox controller works great for so many things (Robotron / Crazy Climber anyone?)

[Zaxxon]

My Pc video card has S-video output. I don't need to move the Pc, just run a cable to the TV.

[NE146]

My Pc video card has S-video output. I don't need to move the Pc, just run a cable to the TV.

Yeah but how about to another house? :P

Like I always say, if anyone loves pc emus it's me. But again, it gets hard to lug it to other places during weekend trips Xbox works great for that

[IntvGene]

I can't really get enthusiastic about any of the new consoles. They all have a lot of the same games. They all look nearly identical. The graphics aren't that much better than DC IMO. Things still look very "polygony". The graphics hardware is developed by PC graphic card companies, either Nvidea or ATI, or Sony. It feels like I might as well just play a PC as it would be the same experience.

I agree that the new games are over-hyped generally... But, I do have some problems with playing things on the PC:

1) I prefer playing games on my TV. Multiplayer isn't the same huddled around my monitor.

2) Getting anything old to run on the new OS. XP sucks rhino dick. Everytime a new OS comes out, there are compatibility issues with the old software, and if I want to play something ten years from now, chances are getting slimmer and slimmer that I will actually be able to do it.

So, here's where the DC (and soon to be modded Xbox) are wonderful. I can emulate tons of stuff on them, and use my TV. Ten years from now (assuming that one of my DCs work), I'll just have to plug it in and I'm all set. Plus, there are great emulators, like SCUMM for the DC where I can play old PC stuff on my DC too.

[geelw]

Well, Sony hasn't really had too many first party hits. Not compared to any other console ever made anyways

I agree that without Rockstar's GTA franchise, the PS2 is much more vulnerable, but c'mon, now... Sony has had many, many first-party hits. Just for the PS2 lately, there's been SOCOM, ATV Offroad Fury 2, and The Getaway, all top-ten best-sellers. If you go back to the PS1, Sony has had dozens of first-party hits.

-- Z.

and some of those first-party ps one games have changed what we're seeing now, if you do enough homework...

besides, NO "modern" (1985-present) cd or cartridge based console has survived soley on first-party software, and that's a given. if you compare the first wave of say, playstation one games to the first wave of xbox games, c'mon- there's NO comparison as to the initial inpressions. the first couple of weeks into the ps launch were insane with good titles (as far as stuff that had been bettered over previous 3D console attempts). on the xbox, halo was all everyone talked about (with good reason), followed by dead or alive 3 and project gotham, from what i recall... n64 owners had what, 3 titles for a few months, and the dreamcast launch was impressive, but many of the games released were rushed somewhat (soul calibur more than made up for the junky games, though)...

i know you've beef with sony, 'wulf, but the ps one didn't become #1 because sony published shitty games for it, period. they hit people over the head with ads until they bled, and the only way to patch up the wounds was to cover them with a system and some shiny black discs...

[Evil E]

All I can say is Xbox RULES!!! It is so much better than PS2 or Gamecube for that matter!!!! I see Xbox getting stronger, not weaker!!! All you have to do
is compare specs between Xbox, GC, and PS2, and it tells it all!!! If you still don't believe, play all three systems--Xbox truly mops them up!!
E.--

[zmeston]

All I can say is Xbox RULES!!! It is so much better than PS2 or Gamecube for that matter!!!! I see Xbox getting stronger, not weaker!!! All you have to do
is compare specs between Xbox, GC, and PS2, and it tells it all!!! If you still don't believe, play all three systems--Xbox truly mops them up!!
E.--

We're not talking about system specs, though -- we're talking about system sales and marketplace share, where the Xbox is a very distant second to the PS2. And we won't even get started about the number of good/great games for the PS2 as compared to the Xbox.

-- Z.

[Sylentwulf]

My problem has always been availablility with Emulation. I don't like learning how to burn things, hunting down roms, and figuring all that crap out. 100% truth right here:

If someone were to give me all of the CD's with working emulators, and roms and instructions on EXACTLY how to install them, I would go out and buy an Xbox Tomorrow. But since I don't have 60 hours to figure out how to do all of the above, I doubt I'll even own an xbox once it's under $100.